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By Yvonne Sam On November 5, 2017 Quebec municipal elections will be held in the city of Montreal. The voting populace will elect 65 positions on the Montreal City Council, including the mayor, borough mayors and city councillors, as well as 38 borough councillors. Projet Montreal’s team of candidates for Notre-Dame-des-Neiges and Cote-des-Neiges are Sue Montgomery (Mayor), Magda Popeanu (CDN), Irina Maria Grecu (Snowdon), Graham Carpenter(Darlington), Christian Arseneault (Loyola) and Peter McQueen (NDG). There’s not a single person of colour on the team running in Montreal’s most populous borough, which has a more than 30% non-white population. No obvious displayed …

I have become accustomed to listen to early morning radio, not necessarily to be entertained, but to hear what’s in the news every given day. And three particular stations meet my daily information needs: CJAD, CBC, CKUT—not necessarily in that order—each one offering specific news and social tidbits of interest to ruminate, and perhaps digest. So a couple weeks ago, in the lead-up to CJAD’s 8 AM news, Doctor Mitch Shulman’s always informative health segment touched on an issue of particular interest to Black people: stress, and it’s potentially fatal outcome if not taken seriously. Generally speaking, stress can be …

Racism has been with us for generations and every effort to mitigate this “cancer” has failed By Bongs Lainjo In one of my articles published by the Montreal Gazette, I highlighted how lucky we as Canadians are in not having to deal with racial hang-ups prevalent south of the border. Here in Canada, our racial overtones remain subtle, less polarizing and less controversial compared with the fireworks in the U.S., especially at the personal, organizational and institutional levels. An event not too long ago in Nova Scotia, where a flag was burned in front of a mixed (white, black) couple’s …

Thursday, May 20, saw Immigration, Diversity and Inclusion Minister Kathleen Weil unveiling plans for the public consultation on systemic discrimination and racism in Quebec, which is scheduled to begin in September. The province will create different ways that would allow public participation in the consultation process, such as the launching of a website where Quebecers can answer a questionnaire and share personal stories. An additional four working groups will be created in areas where discrimination is a concern, such as work and employment, health, education, social services and housing. On completion of the consultation process, Quebec’s commission on human rights …

By Rasta KEITH Although the prevailing brouhaha about the Canadian government’s plans to legalize marijuana might leave many people thinking that the widely used herb is one of those recently engineered genetically modified products dumped on society by Monsanto and other agrochemical corporations, nothing could be further from the truth. While the many varieties of hydroponic marijuana available on the market might give credence to such a view, the plain truth is that marijuana is a natural plant which has been used in almost every known society of the “ancient” world for medicinal, spiritual, recreational and countless other purposes for …

About race, racism, ethnocentrism… “Québec veut ouvrir le dialogue sur le racisme systématique…” screamed a headline on the cover page of last weekend’s Metro newspaper. It’s like a rite of passage for any MNA who holds the Quebec Immigration portfolio. Each one invariably establishes a commission to conduct an inquiry into the reality (or the perception) of systemic racism in the province. According to the article, the announcement of this latest endeavour “coincides with the appearance of a poster proclaiming “All these hateful acts are unacceptable in a society…” the minister stated. That’s true. But platitudes are all that; they …

Quebec launches Public Consultation on Systemic Racism and Discrimination Yvonne Sam Finally, Quebec is moving in step with her neighbour, Ontario, in the aftermath of a 2,662-signature petition tabled by Québec Solidaire MNA Amir Khadir, which called for “the creation of a consultation commission on systemic racism.” On Thursday May 20, Immigration, Diversity and Inclusion Minister Kathleen Weil unveiled plans for the public consultation on systemic discrimination and racism in Quebec, scheduled to commence next September. To this end the government and the Quebec Human Rights Commission, along with non-profit groups intend to hold province-wide meetings geared towards listening to …

Be encouraged. Accept what is and change what you have the power to change… Accept what is, let go of what was, and have faith in what will be. [Sonia Ricotti] You may not be able to change your circumstances, but you certainly can change how you respond to the circumstance and you can change what you have the power to change. Virginia Satir said: “Life is not what it’s supposed to be. It’s what it is. The way you cope with it is what makes the difference.” It’s all about your attitude and your perspective. There’s always another way …

Do you recall the article in the Community Contact a couple issues ago stating that there will be no “Trini Day” in the park this year? Did you hear about the unfortunate death of Devon Matthews, who placed third in this year’s International Soca Monarch with his hit song “D’ Journey (Make It). Well it’s never too late to start over, never too late to pay respects to someone’s contribution to our culture. Montreal Trini Day is a display of Trinidad’s culture through music, singing and dancing and considered one of the biggest outdoor Caribbean events in our city. Organized …

The struggle of Black people have been well-documented by multiple theologians, historians, journalists and researchers, as well as our ancestors who were in the unfortunate position of being in the ultimate form of bondage. Barbarities such as raping of our women, castrations, public lynching for (other people’s) “entertainment”, and the separation of families… were the norm for our people. Add to that the stripping us of our culture and suddenly you have a group of people in 2017 in the same position they have been since the 1600s. Much has changed since then, and while all of these have been …

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As a white Montreal I am ashamed of this city and specifically the Montreal Canadiens' treatment of P.K. Subban. But my main target of disdain is directed at Montreal's media. I must agree with Mr. Gaye's observations completely. He mirrored all that I feel. I will, however recognize the majority of hockey fans in this city that embraced and cheered P.K.'s achievements over the years. And let also be mindful of his charitable activities and the way he became a role model for all children. Thank you Mr. Gaye for your commentary! Robert Sapienza, Montreal

Goodmorning...i am enjoying, reading the C C online...sometimes it is not always Possible for me to go out and get it....this is very convenient for me...,congratulations to you and your staff for the great job that is being done.... This work that you do allows to have the. knowledge of what is going on in our. community. Have a blessed day. Thank You Mary Figueira